ARTICLE 3. Representatives [11900 - 11909]

It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a representative on or after July 1, 1974, without having first procured a license or temporary permit issued by the department or when such license or temporary permit has been canceled, suspended, revoked, or invalidated or has expired.

The department shall prescribe and provide forms to be used for application for licenses to be issued under the terms and provisions of this chapter and require of such applicants, as a condition precedent to issuance of such license, such information touching on and concerning the applicant’s character, honesty, integrity and reputation as it may consider necessary. Every application for a representative’s license shall contain, in addition to such information as the department may require, a statement of the following facts:

(a) Name and address of the applicant.

(b) Whether the applicant has ever had a court judgment rendered for which he has been liable as a result of his activity in connection with an occupation licensed under this chapter and whether such judgment remains unpaid or unsatisfied.

(c) Whether the applicant ever had a license, issued under the authority of this chapter, revoked, suspended, or subjected to other disciplinary action and whether the applicant was ever a partner in a partnership or an officer, director, or stockholder in a corporation licensed under the authority of this chapter, the license of which was revoked, suspended, or subjected to other disciplinary action.

(d) Name, address, and license number of the manufacturer, manufacturer branch, distributor, or distributor branch employing the applicant.

(a) The department shall issue a representative’s license when it finds and determines that the applicant has furnished the required information, and that the applicant intends in good faith to act as a representative and has paid the fees required by Sections 9262 and 11723.

(b) The department may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke, a license for any of the following reasons:

(1) The information in the
application is incorrect.

(2) The applicant or licensee has been convicted of a crime or committed any act or engaged in any conduct involving moral turpitude which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the licensed activity. A conviction after a plea of nolo contendere is a conviction within the meaning of this section.

(3) The applicant or licensee has outstanding an unpaid final court judgment rendered in connection with an activity licensed under this chapter.

(4) The applicant or licensee was previously the holder of, or was a business representative of a business which was the holder of, a license and certificate issued under this chapter which were revoked for cause and not reissued by the department or which were suspended for cause and the terms of suspension have not been
fulfilled.

(5) The applicant was previously the holder of an occupational license issued by another state, authorizing the same or similar activities of a license issued under this division; and that license was revoked or suspended for cause and was never reissued, or was suspended for cause, and the terms of suspension have not been fulfilled.

(6) The applicant or licensee has committed any act prohibited by Section 11713.2 or 11713.3.

(c) Pending the determination of the department that the applicant has met the requirements of this chapter, it may issue a temporary permit to any person applying for a representative’s license. The temporary permit shall permit the operation by the representative for a period not to exceed 120 days while the department is completing its investigation and determination of all facts
relative to the qualifications of the applicant for a license. The temporary permit is invalid after the applicant’s license has been issued or refused.

(d) The department may issue a probationary representative’s license based upon the existence of any circumstance set forth in subdivision (b), subject to conditions to be observed in the exercise of the privilege granted, either upon application for the issuance of a license or upon application for the renewal of a license. The conditions to be attached to the exercise of the privilege shall not appear on the face of the license but shall be those which, in the judgment of the department, are in the public interest and suitable to the qualifications of the applicant as disclosed by the application and investigation by the department of the information contained therein.

(a) The department, after notice and hearing, on an interim basis, may refuse to issue or may suspend a license issued under this chapter when the applicant or licensee has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the licensed activity, if an appeal of the conviction is pending or the conviction has otherwise not become final. A conviction after a plea of nolo contendere is a conviction within the meaning of this section.

(b) If a conviction, upon which an interim refusal to issue
or suspension under subdivision (a) is based, is affirmed on appeal or otherwise becomes final, the refusal to issue or suspension shall automatically take effect as a denial or revocation, as the case may be, of the license. If the interim refusal to issue or suspension was stayed under probationary terms and conditions, the subsequent automatic denial or revocation shall also be stayed under the same terms and conditions for a term not to exceed the original term of probation for the interim refusal or suspension.

(c) If a conviction, upon which an interim refusal to issue or suspension under subdivision (a) is based, is reversed on appeal, the refusal or suspension shall be set aside immediately by the department.

(a) If the department suspends or revokes a representative’s license, the licensee shall be entitled to an appropriate hearing. Such hearing shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(b) If the department issues or renews a representative’s license requiring conditions of probation or if the department refuses to issue such license, the applicant shall be entitled to demand in writing a hearing as hereinabove provided before the director or his representative within 60 days after notice of refusal or
issuance of the probationary license.

(c) A person whose representative’s license has been revoked or whose application for a license has been denied may reapply for such license after a period of not less than one year has elapsed from the effective date of the decision revoking the license or denying the application; provided, however, that if such decision was based upon paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 11902, an earlier reapplication may be made accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the department that such grounds no longer exist.

(a) After the filing of an accusation under this article, the director may enter into a stipulated compromise settlement agreement with the consent of the licensee on terms and conditions mutually agreeable to the director, the respondent licensee, and the accuser without further hearing or appeal. The agreement may include, but is not limited to, a period of probation or monetary penalties, or both. The monetary penalty shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, and it shall be based on the nature of the violation and the effect of the violation on the purposes of this article.

(b) A compromise settlement agreement may be entered before, during, or after the hearing, but is valid only if executed and filed pursuant to subdivision (d) before the proposed decision of the hearing officer, if any, is adopted or the case is decided.

(c) The department shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of maximum and minimum amounts of monetary penalties, the payment of which may be included as a term or condition of a compromise settlement agreement entered under subdivision (a). Any monetary penalty included in a compromise settlement agreement shall be within the range of monetary penalties in that schedule.

(d) Any compromise settlement agreement entered under this section shall be signed by the director, the respondent licensee, and the accuser, or by their authorized representatives. The director shall
file, or cause to be filed, the agreement with the Office of Administrative Hearings, together with the department’s notice of withdrawal of the accusation or statement of issues upon which the action was initiated.

(e) If the respondent licensee fails to perform all of the terms and conditions of the compromise settlement agreement, the agreement is void and the department may take any action authorized by law notwithstanding the agreement, including, but not limited to, refiling the accusation or imposing license sanctions.

Every application for the renewal of a representative’s license which expires on the 30th day of June shall be made by the person to whom issued between June 1st and midnight of June 30th preceding such expiration date and shall be made by presenting the application form provided by the department and by payment of the full annual renewal fee for such license.

The representative’s license, or any permit provided for in this chapter, shall be automatically canceled upon the failure of the licensee to file an application for renewal of the license or permit before July 1st following the expiration date of the current license or permit.

The suspension, expiration, or cancellation of the representative’s license provided for in this chapter shall not prevent the filing of an accusation for revocation or suspension of the suspended, expired, or canceled license as provided in Section 11903, and the department’s decision that such license should be suspended or revoked. Such determination may be considered in granting or refusing to grant any subsequent license authorized by Division 5 (commencing with Section 11100) to such licensee.

Upon issuance by the department to the licensee, the license provided in this article shall be immediately delivered to and posted in a place conspicuous to the public at the place of business of the manufacturer, manufacturer’s branch, distributor, distributor’s branch from which the representative is directly supervised and shall be continuously exhibited in such place while the representative is employed by such employer.

In the event a representative’s employment is terminated, the license shall be forwarded to the department by the manufacturer, manufacturer’s branch, distributor, distributor’s branch not later than the end of
the third business day after termination.